Catheters are commonplace in the medical field, finding importance in a variety of uses. Catheters, for example, come in many different forms and have many different uses including Venous, Arterial, Cardiac, Urinary, Biliary, Epidural, Cerebral, Guiding, Pleural, Peritoneal, Ophthalmic, Drainage, Gastrointestinal, Neurovascular, Nasogastric. The primary types of vascular catheters include the short peripheral, which is typically placed only a short distance (e.g., 5-7.5 cm) in a vein or artery in the hand or arm of the patient, venous catheters that are longer and include a midline catheter that is placed approximately 15-20 cm in the vein of a patient, and central venous catheters.
Central venous catheters (“CVC”) are typically used to administer medications, blood products, or other fluids and there are several types. Non-tunneled central venous catheters are commonly used for administration of therapeutics and fluids in critical care patients and are fixed in place at the site of insertion, with the catheter and attachments protruding directly. Tunneled catheters are passed under the skin from the insertion site to a separate exit site, where the catheter and its attachments emerge from the skin; a hemodialysis catheter is a commonly used type of tunneled central venous catheter. A peripherally inserted central catheter (“PICC”) is commonly used for acute and chronic care patients and is inserted peripherally, e.g., in the arm of a patient rather than in the neck, chest or groin, and fed a significant distance, e.g., to the superior vena cava. Central venous catheters provide necessary vascular access but they are associated with two common complications; infection and thrombotic occlusion.
The pathogenesis of most catheter-related bloodstream infections associated with the use of long-term catheters (>10 days) involve microbial contamination of the catheter lumen(s), followed by formation of a microbial biofilm and subsequent seeding of the blood with microbial cells. Approximately 80,000 catheter-related blood stream infections occur in intensive care units each year (Mermel, Ann. Intern. Med. 132:391-402 (2000)) with an estimated 250,000 cases of blood stream infections occurring if entire hospitals are reviewed (Maki et al., Mayo Clin. Proc. 81:1159-71 (2006)). Catheter-related blood stream infections increase the cost of patient care by extending the length of stay of a patient.
Catheter occlusion is the most common non-infectious complication in long-term use of central venous catheters (Andris, 1999; Calis, Herbst, & Sidawy, 1999). Thrombotic occlusions, which include the development of a thrombus within and/or around the catheter or surrounding vessel (Haire & Herbst, 2000; Herbst & McKinnon, 2001), increase the cost of patient care by the interruption and extending the time of therapy, possible infiltration or extravasation of infusate, or as a nidus of infection. The incidence of thrombotic occlusion in central venous catheters ranges from 3% to 79% of inserted catheters (Moureau, Poole, Murdock, Gray, & Semba, 2002; Walshe, Malak, Eagan, & Sepkowitz, 2002; Wingerter, 2003).
Various methods have been proposed to prepare catheters with surfaces that express antimicrobial and/or antithrombogenic activity. Such methods include dip or spray coating of polymer/drug mixtures, drug impregnation, plasma coating, covalently bonded drugs, drug-polymer conjugates, and direct incorporation of the antimicrobial or antithrombogenic agents into the polymeric matrix of the catheter. Each of these methods present challenges with respect to catheter lumen surfaces such as one or more of the following: non-uniform coating thickness, inaccessible lumens, lumen blockage/restriction, require that only high heat tolerant agents can be used, and/or the limited duration of activity of drug reservoir-based systems.
A vascular catheter typically consists of a hub and tubing or cannula through which fluid flows. Dependent on the type of catheter and its intended use, the number of tubes or cannula (lumen) through which fluid flows may range from one (monoluminal) to five or more; the more common are monoluminal, biluminal, or triluminal (1, 2 and 3 respectively). Typically, the different component parts (e.g., the hubs and tubing) are formed from different polymers. This presents challenges to create a single surface modification with similar properties across at least two catheter components.
There exists a need for techniques and catheters that can be effective at reducing microbial contamination/biofilm and thrombus attachment and accumulation on a catheter.